My beef with pre-Shabbos texts

You can sign up to receive emails from people, companies, etc. You can subscribe to YouTube channels. You can follow people on Twitter. You can "like" something or someone on Facebook. I do all of these things, and I don't mind them at all.

But here's why I don't mind: You can also unsubscribe, un-follow, and unlike these things if you're sick of them clogging up your inbox or profile.

For example, after I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at midnight, I suffered from PHPD (Post Harry Potter Depression.) I came across a PHPD page on Facebook, so I "liked" it. But then whoever created the page got a bit too post-happy for my liking, and my news feed was crowded with random, pointless posts. So I "unliked" it. Easy as re-potting a Mandrake.

With pre-Shabbos texts, however, things get sticky.

Recently, a phenomenon has arisen in which young Jewish people send out long-winded mass-texts with profound quotes or stories that end with wishing the recipient a "good/fantastic/inspiring/amazing Shabbos." So Friday afternoon, as you're rushing around in the usual pre-Shabbos madness, your phone is blowing up with masses of people sending 3 or 4 part messages, misquoting Thomas Edison and using so much texting lingo that the messages are almost incomprehensible.

There's no "unsubscribe" button. No option to "unlike" or "un-follow." The only way to regain any sort of control would be to actually tell the senders that you don't want to receive their pre-Shabbos texts, consequently offending them and looking like a jerk.

Aside from the issue of my phone being attacked by a mob of well-wishers, I feel that there's a deeper issue at the heart of pre-Shabbos texts.

You have my number. If you really, sincerely wanted your good Shabbos wish to mean anything to me, you would take two minutes and CALL ME.

Crazy, right?

Now, I can already hear people saying "But I can't call everyone!" That's exactly the point. You should reserve your "good Shabbos" wishes for people you genuinely care about so that they'll have some sort of significance in this digital, impersonal age where people hide behind their keyboards.

Think about it. Which one shows more care - a message that fifty other people received copies of with a few well-placed taps of a touchscreen, or a phone call, friend to friend?

Relationships take EFFORT, people. There's a give and take. Giving someone even two minutes of your time for a quick conversation, especially on a busy Friday afternoon, really means a lot. It shows that you care, that the relationship means something to you, and that you are willing to put aside time to talk to this person because you genuinely enjoy speaking with them.

And if it inconveniences you for a bit to talk on the phone as you're sweeping the floor or setting the table before Shabbos, it will mean that much more if you make the call, anyway.